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iBook G4 suddenly shuts down...

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shuffle1

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 14, 2004
48
0
Hi gang,

I was hoping you could get me started in the right direction. My wife has an iBook G4 which lately, while using a full battery, just turns off suddenly. There is no warning and it never does it when it's plugged in. The battery looks like it's almost fully charged - at least that's what the meter in the menu says, so I don't know what's going on.

Could you possibly give me some steps to go through to try and figure this out? Thanks so much for your help.

shuffle1

PS: The first step she wants to try is to get a new Intel MacBook, but I'd like to try a couple of other things first! LOL
 
C

crzdmniac

macrumors regular
Aug 23, 2007
110
0
I've fixed a few iBooks with a problem like this. It was a logic board problem, now I can't say for sure that's what your problem is, but it sounds eerily similar. Check out this webpage http://coreyarnold.org/ibook/?p=20 I actually reflowed the solder on the chip, but I've seen some mild success doing it with this method. Good luck! Your wife may get her wish....
 
D

dmplz02

macrumors newbie
Jan 27, 2008
2
0
i've been having this same problem, and my boyfriend has been having it with his old powerbook. right around 40%-35% battery left, our computers will just shut down with no warning. if you restart still on battery, they immediately shut down again. when it does restart plugged in, it says that the date and time were reset to a time before 2001. is this what was happening with yours?

the only thing that our computers have in common are the security updates...
 
D

dmplz02

macrumors newbie
Jan 27, 2008
2
0
it completely shuts down. my bf keeps talking about a "random shutdown syndrome." i also noticed that now my battery drains A LOT faster. before this issue i would get almost 4 hours, now i'm lucky if i get 2. i'm going to take it in this weekend to see what my options are.
 
M

mostatebears

macrumors newbie
Jan 30, 2008
2
0
My Ibook just started doing this last week. I am still trying to figure out if its my battery or my logic board. The battery hasn't even done 200 cycles, so I am leaning towards the logic board. Anyone have better insight on whether this happens because of the battery or the logic board?
 
J

JDR

macrumors regular
Jan 26, 2008
204
0
Chicago, IL
heatmiser said:
Logic board, folks. The iBooks are notorious for these.
Click to expand...

Yep. I had one fail on me, brought it to the Apple Store, they brought it to the back room, put another one in, that one failed, and then finally found one that worked and replaced it.

About the battery life thing, mine has 411 cycles (8% health) with a 20 min battery life, and I noticed that originally when the battery ran out the computer would go into Sleep, but now it directly shuts down--no Sleep.
 
M

mostatebears

macrumors newbie
Jan 30, 2008
2
0
Since it is the logic board, and I have noticed, like the person above, that the shut down occurs at 35-40% and only when not connected to the charger. Is there any time-table on how long a logic board lasts once this shut down starts occurring?
 
R

ricorhino

macrumors newbie
Oct 13, 2009
2
0
dmplz02 said:
i've been having this same problem, and my boyfriend has been having it with his old powerbook. right around 40%-35% battery left, our computers will just shut down with no warning. if you restart still on battery, they immediately shut down again. when it does restart plugged in, it says that the date and time were reset to a time before 2001. is this what was happening with yours?

Hey there - did you sort out the problem - I have EXACTLY the same issue - was it the logic board or the battery? Or is it power managment related? Thanks for any help...........RR:apple:
Click to expand...
 
K

kryptonianjorel

macrumors 6502
Jul 3, 2009
373
0
dmplz02 said:
it completely shuts down. my bf keeps talking about a "random shutdown syndrome." i also noticed that now my battery drains A LOT faster. before this issue i would get almost 4 hours, now i'm lucky if i get 2. i'm going to take it in this weekend to see what my options are.
Click to expand...

Sounds like your battery is bad. Get a new battery

shuffle1 said:
Hi gang,

I was hoping you could get me started in the right direction. My wife has an iBook G4 which lately, while using a full battery, just turns off suddenly. There is no warning and it never does it when it's plugged in. The battery looks like it's almost fully charged - at least that's what the meter in the menu says, so I don't know what's going on.

Could you possibly give me some steps to go through to try and figure this out? Thanks so much for your help.

shuffle1

PS: The first step she wants to try is to get a new Intel MacBook, but I'd like to try a couple of other things first! LOL
Click to expand...

Install coconut battery and check the condition of your battery
 
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